


Window Shopping Romance

by baltshake



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Dates, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 04:26:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13733112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baltshake/pseuds/baltshake
Summary: Wherein Cloud has bad (then good) taste in men, the waitstaff at restaurants are working class heroes, and Zack just wants to do the right thing for a guy who looks too cute to be stood up.





	Window Shopping Romance

**Author's Note:**

> I posted this two years or so ago on my tumblr but it never made it onto Ao3 so I'm posting it here now! It was my return to writing FFVII so to speak and I'm still very fond of it. ^7^ This was based off of a prompt from tumblr user stressedhood that said in summary: "You're stood up by your boyfriend but then a guy you've never seen before comes in, pretends to be your SO, and you have a wonderful date instead." As always, I'd love to hear from what you all think! OuOb

“Are you ready to order, sir?”

Cloud looked up from where he was pretending to text and quickly hid his draft to no one full of furious thumbing under the table. He’d just been doing it to not see the sympathetic looks of the other restaurant goers out of his sight. The way the waitress had spoken to him also leaked of pity and he felt his cheeks heat up with shame.

“Um, no, not yet,” he mumbled, forcing himself to look up and meet the sympathetic smile with a small one of his own. “I’m sure they’re just running a little late.” He was grateful she pretended he hadn’t told her this for the fourth time and watched her leave to help another table before sinking lower in his seat.

It was just his luck, really. Cloud had been dating his current boyfriend for just over a month and the other man had grown progressively more and more flakey. The only reason he’d even suggested a date was so that he could break up with the other in person so he wouldn’t get flack for doing it over text. But now he was an hour late and Cloud was feeling more and more like crap.

Looking at his phone one last time just to make sure there were no messages he missed, he was about to signal the waitress to just get his meal and split when someone sat in the chair opposite him.

“I’m so sorry for being late, baby! Can you believe Midgar traffic on a Tuesday? The worst!”

Cloud blinked owlishly over at the man whom he was sure he’d never seen before. But there he was looking at the menu like he belonged in that seat. Like he’d been the one Cloud had been waiting on for so long.

“Um…”

The stranger looked up and gave him a warm grin before leaning closer, covering his mouth with the menu to block his lips. “I’m Zack,” he introduced quietly. “I work at the shop across the street and I saw you go in here earlier and nobody ever showed up to meet you. Man, they’re a dick! So I said to myself, “Zack, if nobody comes by, you better go give that cute blond company!” so here I am.”

Blinking again in rapid succession, Cloud then realized that “cute blond” meant himself and pinked before it was growing darker as a warm handed landed on his own. He met Zack’s eyes again only to find them looking a bit nervous.

“This is okay, right? If I’m totally misreading the situation, just lemme know now.”

“No, no,” Cloud mumbled, a shy smile peeking out. “Thanks, Zack.”

The menu fell away to show Zack’s grin before he was looking down at it again to speak in a normal voice. “Man, I’m starving! What d’you recommend? I’m thinking the Turk Turbo Tortellini is calling my name.”

“That’s what I was gonna get,” Cloud blurted out then met Zack’s surprised yet pleased beam with a grin. Even after five minutes, he was getting along better with this stranger than the guy who he was dating.

“You guys ready to order?” The waitress was back but now her smile was pleased as she looked between the pair of them.

“You bet we are!” Zack cheered, squeezing Cloud’s hand as he did so.

It was the most fun he’d had on a date in a while and Cloud left the restaurant with Zack at his side, still talking about everything from hometowns to Cloud’s cranky boss Cid to Zack’s friend who wanted to marry LOVELESS.

“All I’m saying is I’ve seen him lick it, okay?” Zack said, pretending to be holding a book in his hands and staring at it lovingly. The fact that it got a laugh out of Cloud just made him grin. “I love books too but you don’t see me trying to slip in-between those folds.”

“Zack, that’s gross!” Cloud cried before he was grinning and laughing all over again. He was about to add something else when he felt his phone vibrate in a text. “Hang on a second.”

Grabbing it out of his pocket, he saw who it was from and frowned. He scanned the message and nearly rolled his eyes. Instead of getting a five paragraph essay about how incompatible they were, he could have just said it to him quick. Deciding to cement it home how their “mismatched maturity levels” were really that big a problem, he simply replied with “k” before shoving his phone away.

“Hey.”

Cloud looked up and saw Zack frowning at him with concern and was shifting his weight nervously.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah. It’s fine.”

Now Zack was looking completely nervous and seemed to have trouble meeting Cloud’s eyes. Instead, he looked towards the second story opposite and squinted a little.

“You know, I had a really good time tonight.”

“Me too, Zack.”

“And I don’t really like the idea of cheating but that boyfriend of yours is a colossal dick! Like, I know some big dicks—seen some of them up close and personal too—but this is just not cool, man!”

“Zack, we’re not-”

“But I really do wanna see you again. Even if it’s as friends or something. That guy doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

“He’s really not-”

“I don’t mean to sound like a home-wreaker or anything like that but I really, really like you and I don’t just wanna let that go-”

“Zack!”

Cloud’s feelings of exasperated amusement warmed further as he watched the man jump and finally meet his eyes with his own wide ones. He looked like someone had just trodden on his tail and he wasn’t sure what to do about it yet.

“He just broke up with me.”

Now it was Zack’s turn to frown, making his brow furrow. “When?”

“Just now.”

“Oh?” A look of comprehension crossed Zack’s face. “Oooh.” Then the realization of what he’d just been saying filtered down too. Cloud decided he liked Zack this pink and bit his cheek to stop a smile. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Cloud said. “I’d like to do this again. Minus the waiting an hour part.”

Still a bit pink, Zack put his fists on his hips and grinned. “Well, guess I’ll just have to oblige you, Mr. Cloud.”

“I guess you will, Mr. Zack.”


End file.
